Gravel Adds Runner Up Finish at Tri-State

TRI-STATE CHALLENGE: CJB & Gravel Come Up One Spot Short in Repeat Bid Outlaws swing through northeast for the first time in 2017

CARLISLE, PA. - May 16, 2017 - David Gravel and the CJB Motorsports team were coming into a triple header weekend with a great deal of confidence. The Pennsylvania based team had scored a podium finish in their most recent race at 81 Speedway near Park City, Kan. and were looking for more.

Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio hosts the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series for a total of six nights in 2017. The first two, Friday, May 12th and Saturday, May 13th, paired the tour with the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series. Gravel and the #5 team timed in 14th on Friday night, gained two spots in their heat and lined up 6th for the main event.

“Track was kind of slick during qualifying so we didn’t do so well,” said Gravel, driver of the GoMUDDY.com, J.R.C. Transportation Inc., C&S Lawn & Landscape #5.

“We got the job done in the heat race, though. Lost the handle a little bit in the dash. We weren’t good early on. A lengthy red helped us as Barry tuned up our machine and we were a lot better from there.”

Gravel and company returned the following night for another round with the high-banked, half-mile oval. The #5 car went to 8th on the speed charts in time trials, finished 3rd in the heat race and started 7th in the main event.

“We qualified one spot out of the top-6,” said Gravel. “So that got us a third place start in the heat race. We started 7th in the feature it was just one of those nights where we totally missed it. Starts and restarts killed us and that put that behind us.

Those kinds of nights are rare for us so we learned from it and put it behind us.”

With Eldora in their rearview mirror, the team made its’ way to Tri-State Speedway near Haubstadt, Ind. for a make-up date race. The CJB crew was trying for four wins in a row at the Indiana bull ring and were off to a good start by timing in sixth before winning their heat race and the Craftsman Club dash.

“We rebounded well,” said Gravel “We timed in well, won the heat race, got the dash draw we needed and won the dash. I tried to pace myself since it was a 40-lap race. Parker (Price-Miller) and Sheldon (Haudenschild) could work the cushion better than us and that allowed those guys to get away from us a little bit. We settled for second."

The team now heads to their home base as events at Lincoln Speedway (Wednesday, May 17th), Williams Grove Speedway (Friday, May 19th & Saturday May 20th) and Weedsport Speedway (Sunday May 21st) are up next on the schedule.

“It’s a very busy,” said Gravel, who currently sits second in the series standings. “It’ll be interesting for everyone with the first PA swing. Everyone will get a chance to see where the stack up. We were pretty fast at the Grove and Lincoln last year. We’re pp for the challenge and we like our chances or getting the job done. We want to build off of our podium finish at Weedsport last year and hopefully get a win there.”

BOX SCORE:

Track

Time Trial

Heat start

Heat finish

Dash start

Dash finish

"A" start

"A" finish

Laps Led

Eldora

14

4

2

3

6

6

6

0

Eldora

7

3

3

7

14

0

Tri-State

6

2

1

2

1

1

2

5

2017 STATS:

Events: 28

Quick Times: 3 Wins: 6

Top-5's: 17

Top-10's: 23Heat Race Wins: 6

Dash Wins: 4

Average Time Trial: 8.7

Average A-main finish: 6.0

Total Laps Led: 123

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JOIN THE CRAFTSMAN CLUB:

CJB Motorsports gets the job done in the pits with Craftsman tools. Craftsman, one of the most enduring names in the tool industry, is a proud partner of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. You can experience the benefits of this legendary brand by joining the Craftsman Club here. CJB Motorsports would like to express their gratitude to Craftsman for supplying the team with dependable tools for their use, night in and night out.

CJB Motorsports is a winged, 410 sprint car team that competes across the country with driver David Gravel. Founded in 2005, the Chad and Jenn Clemens owned organization has worked to establish a standard of excellence in short track racing through fielding competitive entries and providing exceptional exposure for marketing partners. The team is based out of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.